Food Hub celebrates seven-year anniversary with ambitious food transition goal
From young project office to mature education maker
In 2016, Food Hub was founded by social geographer Joszi Smeets and political scientist Joris Lohman. Before farmer protests and "the food and agriculture transition" filled headlines and dominated talk shows, they believed they saw momentum for an agency that would train people to shape the changing food system in practical ways. Food Hub developed several programs over the years for farmers, startups, students, chefs and professionals throughout the food chain. Thousands of people followed these programs; from the Farmer Accelerator to the annual Flevo Campus Summer School or regional Rabobank Food Forward Tracks. Food Hub was behind the Food100, the Food Forward Membership, the Low Food movement and more recently the platform Stop the Food Fight. In 2021, economist Jeroen van IJzerloo joined as a partner, taking the first step from start-up to scale-up.
Our ambition, ambitious but heartfelt: to empower one million "food changers" over the next seven years to positively impact the world of food, or the food system.
- Jeroen van IJzerloo, partner
A solid foundation
The seven-year anniversary in 2023 marks the next step: from young project office to mature education maker. With the addition of Lieke Tegels and Maarten Moerkerken to the management team, general director Jeroen van IJzerloo is steadily building on the organization's foundation, while Joszi Smeets and Joris Lohman are stepping out more.
'Food Hub facilitates the food transition with innovative leadership and knowledge development. We bring the links of the food system into conversation with each other, and ensure that together they get a grip on the world of food and agriculture. We already did that for individuals and smaller companies, and now increasingly for SME and large corporate clients. Because of this, and the opportunities that online education offers now and in the future, we are prepared to take the next leap of scale. Our ambition, ambitious but heartfelt: to empower one million 'food changers' over the next seven years to positively impact the world of food, or the food system," van IJzerloo said.
New look for familiar formula
Food Hub's new color yellow represents change and innovation, warmth and personal character. Attributes that are firmly rooted in the company and allow Food Hub to reach the right people. Thanks to the website's English translation, Food Hub is more findable internationally, and both existing and new education is available online. In February this year, the Regenerative Agriculture course developed by Food Hub and farm Soil Vision came online and has been taken by numerous students since then. Personal leadership, which has an important role in Food Hub pathways, is also available as a course directly through the site. In addition, the new site is heavily focused on sharing news, knowledge and events from Food Hub's large food network - check out News&. Trainers can also now be found on the site. They each have their own expertise in food transition and are regular faces in the Food Hub offering. In addition, the new site provides a clear overview of collaboration opportunities for business parties.
Academies
In consultation with clients, Food Hub organizes various trainings, courses and workshops. Fully organized programs aimed at various target groups and food transition themes: short chains, proteins, food culture, business models and more. From a group personal leadership training course to a multi-day excursion through the food chain, or a long-term program for entrepreneurs nationwide.
Communities
The food and agriculture transition requires collaboration across a wide range of (professional) fields. Food Hub is adept at building strong, interdisciplinary communities that realize change. We do this by providing the community with news, knowledge and inspiration, offering appropriate programs and facilitating collaboration. Moreover, we always make our network available.
Designs
Parties wishing to effect a change in the world of food and agriculture can enlist the help of Food Hub in doing so. It may involve a change in their own organization (internal) or the desire to set up a particular project (external). Even if the question is not yet clear, we know how to deal with it. Together we design the desired change.
Events
Bringing (different groups of) people together is essential for a successful food transition. Online, offline, for ten, a hundred or a thousand people: at Food Hub, we don't turn our hand to an event. We are experienced in the organization, programming, production and communication of events.